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AI-drafted listing descriptions for your Etsy shop, reviewed by you
Type a product's facts into a Google Sheet. A Make AI step drafts the listing description into a review column. Nothing is published. You check and edit every draft before pasting it into Etsy or running ETSY-001 to make draft listings.
Not yet tested · planned: live-tested. Steps and numbers may change after testing.
At a glance
- Who it's for
- Sellers writing 3+ descriptions a week who'd rather edit a first draft than face a blank box.
- The task
- Writing each description from scratch from your notes on materials, size, colors and how it's made.
- Tools & cost
- Make: Free plan[price-check] (1,000 credits a month[price-check]; 15-minute minimum interval[price-check]; appears to allow 2 active scenarios, community-forum report) (Paid plans[price-check]) · checked[price-check]
Credits: Estimated: about 1–2 Make credits per description (we'll confirm on the first test run), covering the Make AI Toolkit step and Update a Row, plus 1 credit per run for Search Rows. 20 descriptions a month in 4 runs ≈ 24–44 credits; 50 in 4 runs ≈ 54–104. No Watch trigger, so no idle checking cost when run on demand; once a day adds about 30 checks a month.
Free plan: likely enough at the recommended schedule (estimate, see credit table) - Make AI Toolkit (Make's AI Provider, Small model): Included on Make Free with no extra account, API key or card[price-check]. Free plan cap: 200,000 input tokens a week, about 660 descriptions[price-check] · checked[price-check]
No out-of-pocket cost; uses Make credits (see credit table)[price-check] - Google Sheets: Free with a Google account[price-check] · checked[price-check]
Free with a Google account
- Make: Free plan[price-check] (1,000 credits a month[price-check]; 15-minute minimum interval[price-check]; appears to allow 2 active scenarios, community-forum report) (Paid plans[price-check]) · checked[price-check]
- Recommended schedule
- On demand (Run once after marking rows "ready"), or once a day at most. Never on a 15-minute trigger.
- Setup time
- ~20 min (estimate)
- What you copy/install
- Make blueprint: ETSY-004.blueprint.json[LINK: /downloads/ETSY-004.blueprint.json, exported after the first passing test] (import into a new Make scenario)
- Sheet template: ETSY-004-template.xlsx[LINK: /downloads/ETSY-004-template.xlsx] (make a copy in Google Sheets)
- Connections in Make: your Google account only. This recipe doesn't connect to Etsy.
- What success looks like
- After one run, every "ready" row has a draft in draft_description and reads "review". Missing facts show as [ADD: …], not a guess. Nothing changed in your shop; no errors in Make's run history.
- Last tested
- Not yet tested (intended: live-tested)
- Time saved
- ≈ 30 min/week Estimated (assumptions below)
Time saved: ≈ 30 min/week (Estimated)
Assumptions:
- 5 descriptions a week × (about 10 minutes from scratch − about 4 minutes to check and edit a draft) = 30 minutes. Typing facts into the Sheet replaces notes you'd make anyway; photos, titles, tags and publishing stay manual and aren't counted. Skipping the check would save more, but don't: it's what keeps listings accurate.
Not timed yet. This becomes Measured only after an agent times the manual baseline (3+ runs, median) and the automated run from Make's log.
Method: How we test: time saved
Make budget (Estimated)
| Schedule | on demand (or once a day at most) |
|---|---|
| Checking credits / month | about 4 (on demand, 4 runs; 1 Search Rows per run) / about 30 (once a day) |
| Work credits / month | about 20–40 (20 descriptions) to about 50–100 (50 descriptions), at about 1–2 each |
| Total credits / month | about 25–45 (20 a month, on demand) / about 55–105 (50 a month, on demand) / about 50–130 (once a day) |
| Switched-on scenarios | 0 if run on demand from the editor (switched off); 1 if scheduled daily |
Assumptions:
- 20–50 new descriptions a month, in about 4 Run-once batches
- 1 credit per run for Google Sheets: Search Rows, however many rows it returns
- about 1–2 Make credits per description (we'll confirm on the first test run): the Make AI Toolkit step (token-based, at about 300 input / 250 output tokens) plus 1 credit for Google Sheets: Update a Row. Unconfirmed until the first test run
Downloads
- ETSY-004.blueprint.json Draft, not tested
What it does
Finds Sheet rows with status ready, sends only that row's facts to Make's AI step (told to use those facts and nothing else), writes the draft into draft_description and sets status to review.
What it does not do
- Publish, change or create anything in your Etsy shop. It has no Etsy module.
- Pull your listings, or anyone else's, from Etsy.
- Use buyer or order details. Never put them in the Sheet.
- Write titles or tags (not in this version).
- Check your facts. Only you know what it's made of, its size and how it was made.
What you copy or install
The blueprint, template and Google connection in the box above. No Etsy connection, AI account or API key needed. Make modules (exact names):
- Google Sheets: Search Rows (status = ready)
- AI Toolkit: Simple Text Prompt, with Make's AI Provider and the Small model
- Google Sheets: Update a Row (writes the draft, sets status = review)
With its AI Provider, "Make does not store your data and your data is not used to train the AI" (apps.make.com/ai-tools). If drafts are weak, the Large model costs a little more per description (estimate; the test log will show how much).
Setup steps
- Copy the Sheet template. Keep the header row.
- In Make, import the blueprint (or build Search Rows (status = ready) → Simple Text Prompt → Update a Row).
- Connect your Google account.
- In the AI step, choose Make's AI Provider and Small. Keep the blueprint's prompt (below).
- Type one practice item's facts, set status to ready, click Run once.
- Check the draft against your facts line by line, fix anything wrong, then set status to approved.
- Paste it into your Etsy listing, or into the description column of the ETSY-001 Sheet.
- Leave the scenario off and Run once when you have new rows, or schedule once a day. Never a 15-minute trigger: each check costs a credit even when no row is ready.
| Column | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| product_name | What the item is, in your words |
| made_by | Who made it and how: "made by me" (e.g. "made by me, hand-thrown on a wheel") or "my design, made with a production partner". The draft says "handmade" only if this says you made it |
| materials · size · colors | Plain words; measurements with units; colors or finishes |
| personalization | What a buyer can customize, if anything |
| care | Care or use notes (no health or medical claims) |
| shipping_notes | Anything true about packaging or shipping (e.g. "ships gift-wrapped") |
| extra_facts | Anything else true and useful (who it's for, what's included) |
| avoid_words | Words never to use (other brands, trademarked terms) |
| tone | e.g. "warm, plain, short" |
| item_made_with_ai | yes / no. If yes, the draft ends with [ADD: your AI disclosure line] for you to fill in (see below) |
| status | ready → review → approved (you set ready and approved; the run sets review) |
| draft_description | Written by the run. Edit here or after pasting |
The prompt (copy-ready; it's also in the blueprint)
Paste this into the Simple Text Prompt step. Replace each {column} with the matching Sheet column from Search Rows. If a column is empty, leave its line in: the AI is told to write [ADD: …] for anything missing.
Write an Etsy listing description using ONLY the facts below.
Rules:
- Never invent or guess materials, sizes, origin, how it was made, or a "handmade" claim. If a needed fact is missing, write [ADD: what's missing] instead.
- Call it handmade only if Made by says I made it. If it was made with a production partner, say so.
- If Made with AI is yes, end with: [ADD: your AI disclosure line]
- Plain, friendly tone: {tone}. No hype, no health or medical claims, no brand or trademarked names, none of these words: {avoid_words}.
- 120–180 words, short paragraphs. You may add a short bullet list of key details.
- Output only the description.
Facts:
Product: {product_name}
Made by: {made_by}
Materials: {materials}
Size: {size}
Colors: {colors}
Personalization: {personalization}
Care: {care}
Shipping notes: {shipping_notes}
Other facts: {extra_facts}
Made with AI: {item_made_with_ai}
Size: the prompt itself is about 220 tokens. With a typical row of facts it's about 250–350 input tokens per row (about 300 on average), and the reply is about 200–250 output tokens. That matches the credit math below. Keep the facts short to keep it there.
Etsy's rules on AI and descriptions
If your item itself is made with AI, Etsy requires you to say so in the listing. Etsy's rules don't cover AI-written description text, but every description must be accurate, so review and edit each draft before you use it.
What we read (not legal advice; check Etsy's current pages yourself):
- Disclosure is about the item. Etsy's Seller Policy: "If an item is created through the use of artificial intelligence, you must disclose this in your relevant listings." The Creativity Standards: sellers "must disclose within their listing description if an item is created with the use of AI." Example line for an AI-made design: "This design was created by me using AI tools from my original prompts." Neither page mentions AI-written descriptions of handmade or vintage items; you can still choose to say you used AI for the text.
- Accuracy is required. The Seller Policy asks you to accurately represent how and by whom an item was made, its materials and origin, and bans false or misleading content. Hence checking every draft.
- Some items need specific details. Items made with a production partner must disclose that, and curated gift baskets must list every item (Creativity Standards). Put those facts in the Sheet.
- Photos. Items made or handpicked by a seller must use original photos or video of the final product; supplies may use commercial images, subject to Etsy's intellectual property policy (Creativity Standards). This recipe doesn't touch photos.
Sources: Seller Policy, Wayback Machine copy of Oct 11, 2026 ("Last updated on Oct 5, 2026"); Creativity Standards, Wayback Machine copy of Aug 28, 2026 ("Last updated on Jun 10, 2025"). The live pages blocked our checks, so we read archived copies. [RESEARCH: re-check both live pages before publish.] Etsy also offers some AI listing tools of its own [RESEARCH: confirm which Etsy AI listing tools exist today, and mention them here honestly].
What success looks like
- Each draft uses only facts in its row; anything missing shows as [ADD: …].
- No avoid_words entry appears.
- Rows not marked ready are unchanged, and so is your Etsy shop (this recipe can't reach it).
- Make's run history shows a successful run, no errors.
Test evidence
Status: Not yet tested. Planned: live-tested, a real Make Free run on a test Google Sheet. No Etsy test shop is needed for the run, since the recipe doesn't connect to Etsy; optionally an approved draft is pasted into a draft listing in our Etsy test shop, which follows Etsy's API Testing Policy.
It passes when: three ready rows (one with a fact deliberately blank) each get a draft and status review; the blank fact shows [ADD: …], not a made-up value; no draft has a material, size, origin or claim not in its row, or any avoid_words entry; credits used are logged, confirming where in the estimated 1–2 credits per description the real cost falls; and the scenario has no Etsy, email or text-message modules.
[TEST LOG: add the log summary, date and credits used once the PASS log exists. No purchases are made for testing.] Re-tested monthly; marked broken if it fails until it passes again.
Tools & cost
| Tool | Free option | Paid (for reference) | Needed for this recipe | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Make | Free plan[price-check] | Paid plans[price-check] | Free plan: likely enough at the recommended schedule (estimate, see credit table): on demand, about 25–105 credits a month for 20–50 descriptions | [price-check] (make.com/en/pricing) |
| Make AI Toolkit (Make's AI Provider, Small model) | Included on Make Free; weekly cap of 200,000 input tokens, about 660 descriptions[price-check] | — | No extra account, API key or card; no out-of-pocket cost[price-check] | [price-check] (apps.make.com/ai-tools) |
| Google Sheets | Free with a Google account[price-check] | — | Free | [price-check] |
Make credit math (Estimated)
Per description: about 1–2 Make credits per description (we'll confirm on the first test run): the AI step (charged by tokens, maybe plus the module's usual 1 credit) and 1 for Update a Row. Each run adds 1 for Search Rows.
| Schedule and volume | Checking / run | Work | Total a month | Fits Make Free? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| On demand, 20 descriptions (4 runs), recommended | about 4 | about 20–40 (20 × 1–2) | about 25–45 | Yes, lots of room |
| On demand, 50 descriptions (4 runs) | about 4 | about 50–100 (50 × 1–2) | about 55–105 | Yes, lots of room |
| Once a day, 20 descriptions | about 30 | about 20–40 | about 50–70 | Yes |
| Once a day, 50 descriptions | about 30 | about 50–100 | about 80–130 | Yes |
| Every 15 minutes | about 2,880 | about 20–100 | about 2,900–2,980 | No |
Assumes about 300 input and 250 output tokens per description, 20–50 a month. Make Free's AI Toolkit also caps input at 200,000 tokens a week[price-check], about 660 descriptions a week at this size, so it's unlikely to limit you. Estimates until the test log measures them.
Make Free limits (read before you switch anything on)
- Credits and speed. Make Free gives you 1,000 credits a month[price-check] and won't run a scenario more often than every 15 minutes[price-check] (make.com/en/pricing).
- Checking costs credits, even when nothing is new. Each scheduled run uses 1 credit for its first step, even if no row is ready (help.make.com/operations). Checking alone costs about: every 15 minutes ≈ 2,880 a month · hourly ≈ 720 · every 6 hours ≈ 120 · once a day ≈ 30.
- Probably only 2 switched-on scenarios. Make Free appears to allow only 2 active scenarios. That number comes from a report on Make's community forum (community.make.com), not a Make pricing or help page. If you run several of these recipes together, that limit could matter.
- How to stay within the limits: run this recipe with Run once and leave it switched off, so it doesn't take an active slot (our reading; the test run confirms it). After the first week, check credits used in your Make dashboard.
Other AI options
- Your own OpenAI API key (prepaid: you buy credit first). In Make, the OpenAI module costs a flat 2 credits per description (1 AI call + 1 Update a Row). With gpt-6-luna and reasoning effort "none" (the default, "medium", adds billed reasoning tokens), OpenAI charges roughly 0.16 dollars per 1,000 descriptions[price-check] (platform.openai.com/docs/pricing).
- Your own Gemini API key on Google's free tier. Also about 2 credits per description in Make, no charge from Google. Caveat: on the free tier Google may use what you send to improve its products, and human reviewers may read it (ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms); Google's terms also say the free tier isn't for users in the EU (EEA), the UK or Switzerland. If at all, use it only for facts you'd be happy for others to read, never with buyer details.
What can go wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Draft states a material, size or origin you never typed | The AI guessed to fill a gap | Delete the claim, add the real fact, re-run the row. Never paste a draft you haven't checked line by line |
| Wrong materials, sizes or colors | A fact column empty, abbreviated or misplaced | Fill it in plain words ("8 in x 10 in", "100% cotton"); re-run |
| Resold or factory-made item called "handmade" | made_by empty or unclear | State exactly who made it and how; correct the draft |
| Another brand's name, a trademarked word or a banned claim | In your notes, or added by the AI | Add it to avoid_words, remove it, re-run |
| Tone drifts, or drafts all sound alike | No tone set, or identical short notes | Fill tone; add one distinguishing detail per item |
| Credits drop faster than expected | Short schedule, or rows re-run because status stayed "ready" | On demand or once a day; check finished rows moved to review |
| Token or usage-limit error | Make Free's weekly AI token cap reached, or very long notes | Wait for the weekly reset or run fewer rows; keep notes short |
| Surprise AI provider bill | Your own OpenAI key with a paid model or big batch | Stay on Make's AI Provider, or set an OpenAI spending limit and run small batches |
| Google connection expired | Access revoked or expired | Reconnect Google in Make > Connections |
Keep this design if you change it: if you ever pull facts from your live Etsy listings instead of typing them, use only an AI provider that doesn't train on your data (Etsy's API Terms, §5 items 18 and 25, limit passing Etsy data to third parties and using it for AI training). The Gemini free tier doesn't meet that bar. Never put buyer or order details in a prompt.
Something else broke?[LINK: Report a break form for ETSY-004]
Seller-policy-safe ✓
Writes drafts only into your own Google Sheet; doesn't connect to Etsy, publish or contact buyers. Facts come only from what you type. When you use a draft, you're responsible for its accuracy under Etsy's seller policies. If your item itself is made with AI, Etsy requires you to say so in the listing. Etsy's rules don't cover AI-written description text, but every description must be accurate, so review and edit each draft before you use it.
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